Down the ages, dance halls have periodically resounded to new dance styles, and during the 1840s they were gripped with polka fever. The elder Strauss’s
Annen-Polka, which is not to be confused with the more familiar work of the same name by the younger Johann Strauss, was only his second dance in the style, but it would remain one of his most popular dances. It was introduced in August 1842 at a summer festival in the Volksgarten in honour of the Empress Maria Anna.
from notes by Andrew Lamb © 2000
